Like most insects, the tsetse fly develops from an egg to an adult through several stages. However, its maturation process begins quite differently than most. This biting fly is best known as the carrier of the parasite that causes sleeping sickness. Does this Spark an idea?
Stages
Like many other insects, the tsetse fly matures through four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult.
Reproduction
Unlike most other insects, the female tsetse fly only produces one egg at a time and that egg hatches inside the female.
Larval and Pupal Stages
The resulting larva feeds on a milky substance until it's able to leave its mother and burrow into the ground. At that point it forms a hard outer casing and enters the pupal stage, feeding on stored food. After 20 to 30 days the adult tsetse fly emerges.
Habitat
There are more than 20 species of the tsetse fly and its natural habitat is the continent of Africa.
Disease
Certain species of tsetse flies carry a parasitic protozoan that causes African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in humans. The disease may be acute or develop over years, beginning with flu-like symptoms and progressing to disruption of the central nervous system. If left untreated, it is fatal.
Fun Fact
The word "tsetse" comes from the Bantu language of the Tswana people in southern Africa.
Tags: insects tsetse, other insects, sleeping sickness, species tsetse, that causes